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I originally got this recipe from the LA Times Food page, but I’ve “improved” it a bit since then, adding the onions and potatoes and subtracting a bit of the complexity. This is a great thing to make if you have a hard time getting your kids to eat anything green, because the kale’s bitterness is really mitigated by the cheese sauce. My children are unusually adventurous when it comes to food, but this one is even a hit with the neighbor kids, who generally aren’t.

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Sausage-Kale-Potato Gratin

1-lb Italian sausage (you can use links, but you’ll have to skin them to crumble them when cooking)

1 cup sweet onion, chopped

4-5 small to medium potatoes, cooked through (I use the microwave) and cubed

½-¾ cup of white wine

2 bunches of kale (just the leaves) or 1 large bag of chopped kale (I get mine at Trader Joe’s)

Salt, pepper, and paprika to taste

1 cup of bread crumbs

½ cup of parmesan cheese

For the sauce:

¾ stick of butter

3-4 tablespoons of flour

1 cup of milk

8 oz. goat cheese

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Brown the sausage with the sweet onion in a frying pan until the sausage is cooked through. Add the cubed, cooked potatoes and sautee for another 5-10 minutes. Pour the white wine into the frying pan, add salt, pepper, paprika, and the kale, and cover. Cook until the kale is well-wilted. Set aside.

To make the sauce, create a roux by melting the butter and then stirring in the flour until blended. Pour in the milk and incorporate. As the mixture thickens, add in the goat cheese and stir until the cheese is melted and incorporated.

Pour the sausage-kale-potato mixture into a casserole dish, then pour the cheese sauce over it, distributing it evenly. Sprinkle the bread crumbs and parmesan cheese over the top. Put the casserole dish into the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, until the bread crumbs are golden brown.

Despite the old saw about third sons being destined for the church, no one ever expected the rakish, irresponsible Walter Langston to take up the collar, least of all himself. After an accident renders him unfit for military service, however, he has few other options. When he’s given the post of vicar at a parish church in a sleepy, coastal village, he’s convinced he’ll molder in obscurity. Instead, his arrival brings a sudden resurgence in church attendance…or at least, the attendance of female parishioners. As word of the eligible young vicar spreads, every well-heeled family for miles with a marriageable daughter fills his pews, aiming to catch his eye. Unfortunately for these hopeful members of his flock, Walter’s eye has already been caught—by the one woman who doesn’t come to church on Sundays.

Artemisia Finch left a lucrative career as a celebrated member of London’s demimondaine to care for her ailing father. Returning home hasn’t been easy, though, as her past isn’t even a well-kept secret in the village. When the new vicar arrives on her doorstep, Artemisia is determined to send him on his merry, pious way. But Walter Langston is nothing like any man of the cloth she’s ever known—he’s funny, irreverent, handsome, and tempting as sin. Falling in love with a vicar would be a very bad idea for a former courtesan. Why does this one have to be so hot under the collar?